The field trip to The Gambia Horse & Donkey Trust facility was a inspiring experience for me. Most animals here – goats, sheep, cows, chickens, ducks, horses, donkeys, dogs and cats – are not well cared for. An inadequate food supply, and cost of veterinary care is part of the problem, but lack of knowledge regarding how much more valuable a healthy animal can be, is a big… ....READ MORE | 2 Comments
The final event of our Pre-Service Training is the traditional marathon march through the bush. Most of the 35 trainees, 4 current PCVs, and 5 support staff started out at 8:30 am, under overcast skies with the temperature in the mid-70s. All but 3, who dropped out mid-way, finished the hike around 4 pm, and by then the temperature had risen into the low-90s. The actual… ....READ MORE | 5 Comments
In 2013 the government donated land, near the village Massembeh, to Peace Corps for a Training Center. Peace Corps has served in The Gambia continually for 50 years, and everywhere you go, it is obvious that we are welcomed and respected. Three PC sectors are currently serving in country, Education, Health and Agriculture.
The 35 trainees in my group were from the Agriculture and Health… ....READ MORE | 3 Comments
One aspect of our training was the support we received from our Language and Cultural Facilitator (LCF). Each training village had four trainees and one LCF staying there during the 8 weeks of pre-service training (PST). The LCF was proficient in the language we were assigned, and knowledgeable about the culture, customs and traditions of The Gambia. They were always available if we had questions or… ....READ MORE | 2 Comments
Rice is the staple grain in the central part of The Gambia, and is served for both lunch and dinner. Most Gambians eat out of a communal food bowl using their right hand. I have not mastered that technique, so I still use a spoon.
The meals in my training village, were spicy but not too hot for my taste, which helped with… ....READ MORE | 5 Comments
I drink a LOT of water, and I’m grateful that there is plenty of clean well water here to drink and wash with. When I arrived in October it was still very humid, with temperatures in the high nineties everyday. I was amazed at how much water I was drinking.
Peace Corps supplies and requires us to
My first two months in country were spent in a Mandinka village. The compound my host family lived in was small in comparison to others, some trainees had up to 18 people living in their compound. Mine had only 6 permanently living there, all women and girls. Kata, my host mother, husband had passed away several years ago. Her four sons were living elsewhere, although one… ....READ MORE | 8 Comments
My Gambian name is Saajoo Sonko – I really like my Mandinka name. I have the same name as one of the siblings in my host family, which makes me her “toomaa”. It is customary and a honor, to be given the same name as an older sibling (although the chronological time frame is a bit off with my senior citizen status). The Gambian tradition is… ....READ MORE | 7 Comments
As a new year dawns, I am excited to begin my service as PCV. Less than three years ago, on a yoga retreat, a friend planted the seed that I could become a PCV after retirement. At that time, I didn’t even know the West African country of The Gambia existed, and now I have the opportunity to learn from and
Holiday Greetings from The Gambia, West Africa. It is very strange to be living in a tropical location, where most of the population is Muslim, during this holiday season. It certainly doesn’t feel like Christmas here.
I finished my 8 weeks of training and was sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer on December 7, 2017. I have moved to my permanent site near the city of Farafenni… ....READ MORE | 14 Comments